Summary: Methwold
Saleem describes the estate that once belonged to an Englishman, William
Methwold.
The estate is comprised of four identical houses, each
bearing the name of a different European palace. Saleem’s parents
buy one of the houses, agreeing to the conditions that they purchase
everything inside the house and that the legal transfer of property
will not occur until midnight, August 15. Methwold says that his
reasons for the conditions are allegorical, as he equates the sale
of his estate with the national transfer of sovereign power.
Saleem lists the other inhabitants of Methwold’s Estate:
Mr. Homi Catrack, a film magnate who lives with his idiot daughter;
old man Ibrahim, his sons, Ismail and Ishaq, and his wife, Nussie;
the Dubashes, who become parents of Cyrus, Saleem’s first mentor; Doctor
Narlikar; and finally, Commander Sabarmati, his wife, Lila, and
their two sons, who will grow up to be nicknamed Eyeslice and Hairoil.
As the transfer of power draws closer, the inhabitants of Methwold’s
Estate complain incessantly of having to live among Methwold’s things.
As the inhabitants settle in, they remain unaware of the fact that
they have begun to imitate Methwold’s habits, from the cocktail
hour he keeps to the accent with which he speaks.
The Times of India announces a prize
for any child born at the exact moment of independence. Still recalling
the prophet’s words, Amina declares that her son will win. The summer
rains begin, and Amina grows so heavy she can scarcely move. After
the rains end, Wee Willie Winkie, a poor clown, returns to the estate
to perform for Methwold and the new families. Willie Winkie tells
the crowd that his wife is expecting a child soon as well. Saleem
tells us that the child actually belongs to Methwold, who seduced
Winkie’s wife with his perfectly parted hair. Saleem’s narrative
then jumps to a church, where a midwife named Mary Pereira sits
in a confessional booth, telling the young priest about her relationship
with an orderly named Joseph D’ Costa, who has taken to committing
acts of violence against the British. Saleem says that on the night
of his birth, this woman made the most important decision in the
history of twentieth-century India. Back at Methwold’s Estate, Musa
is still “ticking like a time-bomb” as the hour approaches midnight.
Summary: Tick, Tock
On August 13, 1947, Bombay comes alive as the city prepares
for India’s imminent independence from the British. At midnight,
the nation of Pakistan will officially be created, a full day before
India will be declared independent. Violence breaks out on the borders
of Punjab and in Bengal.
A series of events occurs all at once, and Saleem’s narrative
skips between them. At Methwold’s Estate, Ahmed and William Methwold
drink cocktails in the courtyard. Meanwhile, at the old house on
Cornwallis Road, in Agra, Aadam Aziz rises from his bed and nostalgically
pulls out the perforated sheet, only to discover that moths have
eaten it. Back at Methwold’s Estate, Wee Willie Winkie’s wife, Vanita,
goes into labor. William Methwold walks into the courtyard of his
former compound, stands in the exact center, and salutes the landscape.
Shortly afterward, a sadhuji, or holy man, enters
the compound and sits under a dripping water tap. He proclaims that
he awaits the birth of the One, the Mubarak. As soon as he says
this, Amina goes into labor. Once the sun has set, Methwold ends
his salute and pulls off his hairpiece. Amina and Vanita lie in
adjacent rooms at the nursing home, and two boys are born at midnight.
Upon hearing the news, Ahmed drops a chair on his toes. In the ensuing
confusion, Mary Pereira switches the babies’ nametags in memory
of her revolutionary Joseph, giving Saleem, biologically the son
of Willie Winkie and Vanita, to Ahmed and Amina.
